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USDA invites qualified individuals to apply to the Senior Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Program (CDP), expected to begin December 2024. The SES CDP is designed to develop individuals with proven leadership potential who wish to serve at the executive levels of government. Qualified individuals are those who have demonstrated, through their performance and experience, the potential to assume executive- level positions within the Federal Government.
Learn more about this agency05/15/2024 to 05/31/2024
$0 - $0 without compensation
GS 14 - 15
Few vacancies in the following location:
No
No
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
No
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
None
No
No
USDA-CDP-2024-12416483
791428000
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Current excepted service federal employees.
Applications will be accepted from all qualified candidates.
The USDA's SES Candidate Development Program requires that individuals have at least one year of supervisory experience at the GS-14 level (and above).
Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal.
Context - Talk about the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to tackle a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).
Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
Result - Give specific examples of the results of your actions. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.
See OPM's Guide to the Senior Executive Service Qualifications for additional information on executive qualifications statements.
Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the Federal Service or its equivalent in the private sector. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as:
- Directing the work of an organizational unit
- Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects.
- Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and
- Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policymaking, policy determining, or other executive functions.
Phase I: Initial Review of Application Package
The application package will undergo review for completeness, basic qualifications, and eligibility.
Phase II: Minimum Qualifications Review
Applicants who are qualified through the initial review, will receive a review of their resume and documentation. Applicants must submit a Standard Resume, SF 50, and responses to all ECQ's, not to exceed 5 pages. Font is to be no smaller than size 11 with .5 margins and single spaced. ECQ's are to be in narrative format, describing their accomplishments against each of the five executive core competencies:
1. Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. (Competencies: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision).
2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. (Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building).
3. Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. (Competencies: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility).
4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. (Competencies: financial management, human capital management, technology management).
5. Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. (Competencies: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating).
Phase III: Structured Interview (SI)
Applicants who reach this phase will undergo a structured interview by a panel of USDA executives. The panel will rate and assess candidates using targeted questions. Candidates advancing to the structured interview phase will be required to provide Agency and Supervisory Endorsement.
Phase IV: Certificate
Qualified applicants will be placed on a selection certificate and selected for participation in the next phase of the process for final consideration by the USDA Executive Resources Board (ERB).
Phase V: Selection
The USDA SES CDP Executive Resources Board (ERB) will confirm and ratify final selections based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, and potential to master the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).
This job does not have an educational requirement.
Candidates who successfully complete the program and receive certification of their executive qualifications by an Office of Personnel Management Qualifications Review Board under the criterion of 5 U.S.C. 3393(c)(2)(B), will be eligible for noncompetitive appointment to the SES. Participation in the program does not guarantee placement in an SES position.
Candidate Status Candidates selected from within the USDA serving in career or career-type appointments retain their grade, pay, and status of their current position while completing the program and remain employees of their current organizations. Candidates selected from outside the agency who are currently serving in career or career-type appointments in other agencies may participate in the program while serving in their current agencies upon negotiation of a Memorandum of Understanding with the candidate's home agency.
Candidates selected who are serving in other than career or career-type appointments (e.g. temporary appointments) are offered limited-term excepted-service appointments (comparable to a Schedule B appointment) at Grade 15 level for the duration of their participation in the program, but not to exceed 3 years. Such appointments are made to full-time positions created for SESCDP developmental purposes and may not be used to fill regular positions on a continuing basis. The appointments do not confer civil service status. If an SESCDP participant serving on a limited-term excepted service appointment discontinues participation in the SESCDP for any reason, his or her employment with USDA terminates because it is authorized only for executive development positions established in conjunction with the SESCDP. Similarly, if the participant graduates from the SESCDP, but does not obtain an SES position before the appointment expires, his or her appointment with the USDA also terminates.
All application forms are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act and become the property of USDA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication or program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
Effective January 1, 2010, OPM must authorize any employment offers we make to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employees in the executive branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you must disclose that to the Human Resources Office.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Following Applicants will NOT be considered for the program:
You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education (if applicable). Your application will be rated and ranked by an Executive Resources Board (ERB) Panel, using only the information submitted within the application package. Applicants who do not demonstrate in their application sufficient possession of the ECQs will be determined ineligible for further consideration.
To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12416483
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure or downtime, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
1. Your resume
YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR RESPONSES TO THE EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs).
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin. Failure to submit the required documentation by 11:59 pm EST of the closing date will result in loss of consideration. The following instructions outline our application process.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office during business hours well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages with supporting documents must be submitted no later than noon on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you are requesting this.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.
Step 2: Create a resume with USAJOBS or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement).
Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Reasonable Accommodation: This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency at 202-260-8128. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.
Consideration for competitive selection for this position is open to all persons within the area of consideration who meet the basic qualifications. Race, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, religion, marital or family status, disability, and other non-merit factors will not be considered.
Candidates who do not submit complete application package as indicated in this announcement will not be considered. Please be sure to remove all PII (e.g. SSN, DOB, etc.) from all documentation. Spell out Acronyms the first time used.
Applicants who cannot apply on-line may mail their applications (must be postmarked prior to the close date) or fax your application before the close date to the Agency Contact listed in the vacancy announcement.
Once applicants submit the initial application, applicants will receive an acknowledgement email from USAJOBS indicating application received status. Once this announcement closes, applicants will receive an email from USAJOBS indicating announcement closure, with instructions and time frame of next steps. Upon conclusion of each selection phase, applicants will receive electronic notification of their status. Once program selections have been finalized, applicants on the Selection Certificate will receive an email indicating final status (selected; not selected).
Continued Service Agreement: Selectees for the program who are USDA Employees will be required to sign a Continued Service Agreement (CSA) to safeguard the Government's training investment. The USDA agreement states the employee will stay with USDA or other Agency of the Federal Government for three years after completion of the USDA SES CDP academic/formal interagency training element of the program. Employees who voluntarily leave Federal civil service before completing the terms of the agreement may be required to repay the cost of training and related travel expenses, excluding salary or other compensation. This does not preclude an employee from pursuing promotion or reassignment opportunities within the Federal government during the program. Non-USDA Federal employees may also be required to sign a CSA through a Memorandum of Agreement between USDA and their home agency.
For candidates selected from other Federal agencies, USDA will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as described by 5 CFR 412.302(d)(3) with the candidate's employing agencies. The MOU will indicate that the candidate may participate in the SESCDP even if leadership changes occur within the candidate's employing agency. The MOU will be signed by the CHCO from both agencies and submitted to OPM. The MOU will specify that the home agency will be responsible for covering the costs of the candidate's travel to and from the SESCDP, SESCDP training, and will continue to cover the salary and benefits of the candidate for the duration of the program.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/791428000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The Senior Executive Service (SES) is comprised of the men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of the government. These leaders possess well-honed executive skills and share a broad perspective of government and a public service commitment which is grounded in the Constitution.
If you would like to work for a premier agency focused on enhancing the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture; ensuring safe, affordable, nutritious and accessible food supply; forest and range lands; supporting sound development of rural communities; providing economic opportunities for farm and rural residents; expanding global markets for agricultural and forest products and services; and working to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world, then the USDA is for you. To learn more about our agency, our exciting mission, vision and guiding principles, please visit http://www.usda.gov.
